Team Summit drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line hope to be in the Winner’s Circle next weekend in St. Louis, MO. Image courtesy of NHRA.com.
Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaro driver Greg Anderson came into Sunday’s final eliminations of the AAA Fall NHRA Nationals in Ennis, TX cautiously optimistic about his chances.
After all, Anderson had earned the fifth starting position with a 6.571-second elapsed time and a top speed of 211.06 miles per hour, setting the stage for a first-round match-up against noted “leaver” Greg Stanfield.
Fortunately, Anderson proved up to the challenge, combining a .021 light and a 6.592-second, 210.37 mile-per-hour run to eliminate Stanfield, who posted a .023 reaction time, and 6.640-second elapsed time and 208.65 mile-per-hour run in the losing effort.
However, the KB Racing team had little time to celebrate, as their second-round opponent would be one of the hottest drivers in the category, Vincent Nobile, whose team works in conjunction with current NHRA Championship points leader, Allen Johnson.
Despite racing without the luxury of lane choice, Anderson was able to get a slight lead on his rival. Unfortunately, his 6.603-second, 210.41 mile-per-hour pass was not enough to hold his opponent’s charge, who used a 6.590-second, 210.21 mile-per-hour run to edge Anderson by four thousandths of a second.
“As I said in an earlier interview, we are in a position where we’re out of mulligans, and we have to win out from here,” Anderson said. “It’s up to us. if we can be perfect the rest of the way then I think we’ll have a chance, but if not, someone else may be the champion. We’ll give it all we’ve got and see where we stand.
“The good news is that we’re capable of it. We’re getting very close on the performance of these new Summit Racing Camaros, but as we saw this weekend, we still have some things to work on, and we ended up on the wrong end of a very close drag race. One important thing is that these were not the conditions we normally thrive in and we were still competitive.
“Hopefully next week, we’ll get back to conditions that are better suited to our tune-up, allowing us to finally show the performance we are capable of.”
Anderson’s KB Racing teammate Jason Line, from the third qualifying spot, lost on a holeshot in the first round to Rodger Brogdon.
Pro Stock Championship Point Standings
1. Allen Johnson 2,339
2. Jason Line 2,246
3. Vincent Nobile 2,217
4. Erica Enders 2,195
5. Greg Anderson 2,161
Summary of eliminations
Top Fuel – Antron Brown, 3.898 seconds, 311.49 mph def. Spencer Massey, 3.945 seconds, 300.60 mph.
Funny Car – Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.826, 197.59 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 5.025, 188.15.
Pro Stock – Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.598, 210.93 def. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.835, 209.39.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – Michael Ray, Buell, 6.920, 192.77 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.028, 190.48.
Top Alcohol Dragster – Jim Whiteley, 5.275, 271.68 def. Chris Demke, 5.739, 263.77.
Top Alcohol Funny Car – Clint Thompson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.591, 259.46 def. Tony Bartone, Ford Mustang, 5.685, 260.36.
Competition Eliminator – David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.230, 182.75 def. Joey Tanksley, Dragster, 6.764, 197.36.
Super Stock – Eric Pearson, AMX, 10.789, 108.58 def. David Latino, Chevy Cobalt, foul.
Stock Eliminator – Terry Emmons, Camaro, 10.537, 117.36 def. Jacob Pitt, Plymouth Duster, 11.426, 112.00.
Super Comp – Tommy Phillips, Dragster, 8.907, 160.46 def. Austin Williams, Dragster, 8.868, 157.19.
Super Gas – Tommy Phillips, Chevy Corvette, 9.911, 149.08 def. Jimmy Lewis, Corvette, 9.921, 156.55.
Super Street – Steven Wilson, Chevy II, 10.873, 131.22 def. Jeff Hefler, Chevy Vega, 10.864, 118.98.
Top Sportsman – Jimmy Lewis, Pontiac GXP, 6.960, 201.61 def. Joe Pigford, GXP, 7.129, 193.63.
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